You know you're a ticker when you'll buy a Guinness 12-pack simply because it has a new offering in it. Guilty. This stuff pours a clear smoky topaz topped by over a finger of wan khaki foam. The nose comprises dark greens, light old maple syrup, sweet barley, and biscuit. Things are even more bland than English milds' reputations occasionally demand. The taste is a mess of soapy, grassy, lightly-caramel-y biscuit. Harumph. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a fluid feel. Overall, a limp offering, one that certainly doesn't deserve a 12-pack feature debut (though imagining this stuff in its own sixer is even more offensive, so, yeah...). Guinness can do better.

Pours medium brown under a moderate khaki head that leaves a thin collar and minor bits of lacing.

I get just a faint whiff of bread on the nostrils.

Nondescript malty brew. British all the way in style and character. Bready malts, with very subtle hopping to provide balance and drinkability. Not bad, but nothing special. Just a decent drinking, malt brew with decent drinkability.

The was ale poured from a bottle and had a brownish amber colour to it. Relatively clear with no cloudiness. There was a moderate head left over that settled into a low, creamy layer floating on top. Not much of a smell or taste to it; there was a slightly bitter, malty nose and a bitter flavour, with lingering nutty bitterness. Not particularly flavourful in terms of hop, malt, or grain.

330ml bottle, code but not date stamped, poured into a snifter. From a variety pack including regular Guinness, Black Lager, and Foreign Extra Stout. Pours a clear dark reddish-brown with a moderate tan head. Has weak retention but leaves rather nice lacing. Aroma: lots of baked bread and caramel malt. very typical of a dark mild. A little bit of dark fruit too. Mouthfeel: medium-light body, perhaps a tad thin; well-chosen carbonation level. and rather sticky. The taste largely follows the aroma, but is less sweet and more hoppy than expected. There is a good amount of dark malt flavor with a lasting roasted malt flavor in the aftertaste.

O: pleasantly surprised by the quality of this macro-brewery offering.

Situation: Celebrating a three-day week...Glassware: Kisatsky pint...Appearance: three-finger head completely fills the pint...dark cloudy lacing; strong dark brown body...Aroma: malty, lactic base that is signature Guinness stout; a small hop trail, but malty as a Brit should be...Palate: medium-bodied, mildly effervescent; a bit buttery....Taste: malt tickles the teeth and tongue; mellow and smooth; an enjoyable session ale; do not really see the winter aspect of this beer....Overall: a red in the vein of Newcastle's Werewolf, but a bit more substantial and more agreeable

Clean ruby-brown upon pouring, with a decent head of off-white foam. Lace is nice but erratic.

Nose is roasty barley, with a sweet malty tone -- definitely grains, but with almost a hint of fruit somehow. Not bad.

Taste is similar -- roasty and flavorful, yet light in body. There's a definite tinge of bittering hops within the mix, but the roasty malts are most prevalent. This is a rich and easy-drinking ale, not great but certainly a nice change from the usual Guinness.

Appearance: Similar to New Glarus Fat Squirrel, an English brown. This is also quite red with rustic carbonation and nice foam and lacing.

Smell: Very metallic smell with a faint hint of caramel hops. Very generic, and the minerals overwhelm.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Once again, this is very metallic and heavily carbonated. Almost tastes like tonic water, only more sour. The sourness is also what hurts the mouthfeel, making this harsh going down, a bit like vinegar.

Smell: Aroma is floral/wet grass with a bit of yeasty mineral character. A hint of roast malt appears when it's swirled, along and a touch of light fruit.

Mouthfeel: In the mouth it's medium-light in body and smooth across the palate with just a gentle bristle.

Taste: The flavor suggests a standard amber ale with a soft fruitiness (apples, pear, a touch of dark fruit) and some chalkiness, but there's also something different here - rather than just caramelish malt, it lends a bit of dark malt acidity. Across the palate it becomes nutty and gently toasty, but then even more so in the finish. Dry. Bitter, spicy, and quite lingering as such in the finish with little left to balance it except for a bit of apple and pear-like fruitiness amidst light toast and delicate, swirling notes of floral, leafy, and grassy hops. The mineral character (crushed granite) remains, helping to dry it even more. Long finish. Bitter at the back of the throat.

Now the rant: Generous ale? To whom? To flavor and the drinker, OK, I can live with that (even if it is a stretch) BUT the label reads "...Generous Ale celebrates Arthur's legacy... and his commitment to the welfare of his employees & the community". Perhaps that was true during Arthur's tenure, but it was certainly not true of his children's rule!

Is it not well known that the Guinness family (of English origin) fought against the repeal of the Act of Union, and thus against Irish independence from England? That Arthur's eldest son was a member of the orange order! That they were not exactly kind to the Irish Catholics that made up the majority of their work force? In fact, during the 1930's Guinness employed over 12,000 men at St. James Gate (close to 10 percent of the entire male population of Dublin), and it wasn't until the 1960's that a Catholic worker was allowed to enter management. Things may have changed, but to note Arthur's "commitment to the welfare of his employees & the community" certainly raises some questions in my mind. On the other hand, being an open-minded person who looks at all aspects of a situation I do have to acknowledge that at least until the 1960's, political and religious hierarchies existed throughout Ireland, England, and the rest of Europe (lest we not forget Nazi Germany).

The Generous Ale is an easy drink beer.....medium in body with subtle carbonation. Beer poured a clear brownish amber with offwhite head that is leaving only a spotty lace. The scent is bland and the taste carries a tinge of spice. Overall its ok.